Cliff Tremlow — The Pike(book)
The Pike is a pulp horror/when-creatures-attack novel set in Lake Windemere, regarding a giant blood thirsty fish. First appearing in 1982, it was the first novel written by Cliff Twemlow, a key figure in micro-budgeted/ often SOV action/horror/sci-fi cinema of the UK, which last year was celebrated by the excellent InterVision/ Severin Blu Ray Boxset Bloody Legend: The Complete Twemlow Collection- which brought together a doc about the great man, eleven of his features and much more. Here from Severin/ Encyclopocalypse Publications is a reprint of the book.
The paperback book comes presented in a smaller-than-A5-sized B format. It features a glossy cover-on it’s front cover, we have blue metallic title text, and an illustration of a wide open razor-toothed Pike.
The book runs about one hundred and eighty pages, taking in a foreword and an afterword by Brian Sterling-Vete, who worked on Cliff’s films as well as training in the gym with him.
From the outset, and throughout the novel, you can really feel Cliff’s passion for Lake Windemere and its natural beauty. Yes, the focus is on a killer twelve-foot fish and its impact, but deep down, there is true love for the lakes and the countryside that surrounds them.
The book opens one Sunday morning as a few anglers are watching the calm waters. Suddenly, they are broken by something pulling under two swans with a mass of blood and feathers.
As we go on, we are introduced to our lead characters- there’s told he’s ‘lost his edge’, newspaper reporter Mike Watson. Rich-just- helicopter in diving buddies Joe, Larry and Lars. And later on, local Pike expert Ulysees Grant is brought into the fold.
Cliff’s writing is approachable/ readable, with the plot moving along well enough. As you’d hope/ expect with this type of thing, we do get a few gore deaths, as well as some decent tension/build-ups to said attacks. Though I would say these don't happen as often as, say, early books by James Herbert or Shaun Hutson.
This new edition from Severin/ Encyclopocalypse Publications is nicely presented, with decent above-normal paperback standard paper stock. My only criticism would be the text of the main story, as it often feels very tightly laid out, with often little or no breaks between jumping from one character/ situation to the next.
In 1982, plans were underway to make The Pike into a film. They had got Joan Collins onboard, and a remote control twelve-foot mechanical Pike had been built- but for one reason or another it never happened, because from the book it’s clear it would have been a lot of cult film fun.
In conclusion, if you’re a fan of either Cliff Twemlow or pulpy when creatures attack novels, The Pike is well worth picking up. And if you want to find more about the unmade film, there’s some great old news footage, as well as a very tongue-in-cheek interview with the Pike itself on the excellent Cliff boxset Bloody Legend: The Complete Twemlow Collection